Boise NF-Emmett Ranger District Begins Travel Planning

The Boise National Forest continues their Travel Planning and is now working on portions of the Emmett Ranger District. There are a total of 216,193 acres, comprising some 65 percent of the Ranger District, that have not gone through a complete National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) decision process for route designation. These acres are comprised of the "E" travel management areas identified on the current Boise National Forest Visitor/Travel Map. Public motorized travel in "E" areas currently utilizes established user-created routes, as well as formally designated routes.

Of principal interest is specifically which, if any, of the user-created routes within the "E" areas to formally designate for public motorized travel and what site-specific information the Forest Service (FS) should consider in evaluating user-created routes proposed for formal designation. At the conclusion of this process, only formally designated routes will remain available for public motorized travel in these areas.

The first step in the planning process is to develop a detailed proposal for the new designated travel plan. They call this the "proposed action." The FS needs your input! The FS is working on developing that proposed action right now! It is extremely important that individuals and groups who are interested in motorized recreation in these areas participate in this process. All information received will be available for public review and comment later this fall.

The deadline to submit comments for this part of the planning process is August 30, 2008.

Keep in mind that the new Travel Rule applies to ALL motorized vehicles. Hunters who use ATVs or motorcycles to retrieve harvested big game have the potential to be most directly affected by this route designation process.

The FS is holding three public meetings, where they will explain the Travel Route Designation Process for the Emmett Ranger District. (See Schedule below)

Site-specific maps of the "E" areas on the Emmett Ranger District will be available at the meetings and, subsequently, on the Boise National Forest website. District specialists will be available to provide information on current uses of the "E" areas.

EMAIL COMMENTS TO: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Put "Emmett Travel Route Designation Process" in the subject line. Acceptable formats are MS Word, Word Perfect, or RTF. Comments should include your name and address.

For information on their planning effort, please contact John Erickson, District Ranger, Emmett Ranger District, at 208-365-7000. The Boise National Forest's Travel Management website (http://www.fs.fed.us/r4/boise/recreation/travel_management/travel_mgmt_index.shtml) will be adding additional information on this planning effort, including downloadable maps of the areas needing designation and a form that may be useful to you in providing your input.

JUST REMEMBER, PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT IS CRUCIAL TO KEEP RECREATION AREAS OPEN, PLEASE GET INVOLVED!

About the author

Advocating access to public lands carries a responsibility to be part of the solution for managing the public lands. As a strong proponent for participation to make a difference, I am a full time advocate for recreation and the Managing Editor of the OutdoorWire family websites.

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